An Unforgettable Night
by hijackeddandelion
Summary: If there was anyone who was deserving of all the happiness in the world, it was Star, and Marco unknowingly made a silent vow to himself to always be the one to make her that happy.


**A/N: Hello! So I don't know about you guys but, after the rush of emotions from just the first four episodes of Season 3, I could use some Starco fluff! Anyways, this one-shot takes place during Bon Bon the Birthday Clown after the cemetery scene. Enjoy!**

 **Disclaimer: I do not own Star vs. the Forces of Evil. All rights belong to Disney and Daron Nefcy.**

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Quiet.

It was eerily quiet.

Never, since the moment Marco met Star, had he known her to be so agonizingly silent. He stood on the other side of her bedroom door just staring at the closed piece of wood in front of him. He silently prayed for any source of noise from his best friend. The stampede of warnicorns, an explosion from a failed spell cast, a Love Sentence song blaring from her radio, anything at all. He needed to hear something from her to let him know that she was okay. He didn't know how long he'd been standing there, hoping that she'd open the door with her cheerful smile and sparkling glimmer in her eyes. Every time he worked up the courage to knock on her door he'd just as quickly drop his hand before it could make contact. There was nothing good enough that he could say to her to make her feel better. He didn't know where Ludo was hiding to go retrieve the spell book along with Glossaryck. No amount of his homemade nachos could put even the smallest hint of a smile back on her face. His best friend was hurting and there was nothing he could do about it.

He felt so unbelievably helpless.

Marco's father walked up behind him and put a gentle hand on his son's shoulder. "How is she, mijo?"

"I don't know." Marco whispered.

"Here, honey." His mother said, handing him a tray of freshly baked cookies and two glasses of cold milk. "She needs to eat something."

Marco took the tray hesitantly. "I don't even know what to say to her."

"Sometimes it's not about finding the right words to tell someone, but rather, finding the right time to be with them when they need you the most." His mother said thoughtfully. "And Star needs you."

"But I can't help but feel like I had a part in this."

"It's natural to feel guilty when someone close to you is sad. We blame ourselves for being unable to prevent the situation that caused their sadness." Although his mother's words were wise, she spoke unknowing about the small role that her son had played in Star's heartache. Of course, Marco didn't know either.

"We'll leave you two." Mr. Diaz said before giving his son a reassuring smile and wrapping his arm around his wife as they walked away.

Marco turned back to face the door. He inhaled a slow, deep breath to ready himself. His knuckles lightly tapped on the door. No response. He knocked again. Still nothing. He slowly turned the doorknob and, to his surprise, it was unlocked. He carefully opened the door and peered his head inside to take a peek. There was no sign of movement. Everything remained uncharacteristically still in the usually vibrant room. Marco's eyes scanned the room until they fell upon Star's curled up form on her bed. Her back was faced to him with her knees tucked into her chest and her signature horn headband resting on her pillow. She looked so vulnerable. Marco's shoulders slumped forward as despair washed over him.

"Star?" Marco said quietly to not startle her. She didn't acknowledge his presence. "My...uh...my mom baked you some cookies. They're your favorite, double caramel chocolate chip with marshmallows."

Star's voice was barely above a faint whisper that Marco almost didn't hear what she said. "Tell her thank you, but I'm not hungry."

He set the tray of cookies on her nightstand and took a seat at the edge of her bed. "Tell me if there's anything I can do to help. Anything at all."

She still didn't turn to face him and kept her face shielded from view with her hands. He hated seeing her in this much pain. "Star, please look at me." He begged.

He reached for her hands and gently gripped them. He started to remove them from her face and was surprisingly able to do so with ease. Almost like Star wanted him to. When her face was uncovered she turned just the slightest to barely take a glance at Marco. Sky blue met chocolate brown as she stared at him with red puffy eyes, a quivered lip, and a tear stained face. Marco could feel his heart physically ache at the sight. It was unbearable.

Marco immediately pulled Star towards him and onto his lap as he cradled her in a warm and steady embrace. She buried her face into his shoulder and began to sob. He could feel her hands clutching at the back of his hoodie and each time her grip tightened, so did his arms around her. She inhaled his familiar scent, breathing it in like a burning essence to sooth her nerves. Marco gently stroked her long blonde hair, taking notice to how soft it was and wondering if it had always felt that way. Neither one of them said a word. They just remained there, holding on to the other, fearful that if they let go, they would drift away from each other.

Marco wasn't sure how much time had passed and, honestly, he didn't really care, but he needed to check on her. "Star?" He gently whispered in her ear, his soft voice causing her the smallest shiver.

She leaned back to finally look at him, sniffling a few times before she answered. "Yes, Marco?"

"How are you feeling?"

"I don't know." Star answered honestly.

"Do you wanna talk about it?"

"I'd rather not re-live the worst night of my life."

"It's better than keeping it to yourself."

"What's there to say? You already know everything. Ludo stole my spell book and kidnapped Glossaryck, I ruined Janna's séance, I lost my chance with you, my magic turned green aga-" Star's eyes went as wide as saucers and she immediately sealed her lips after realizing what she had just said. She quickly averted her gaze to the floor as if it had suddenly become so interesting. She chewed on her bottom lip and slowly glanced at Marco out of the corner of her eye, hoping that he hadn't heard what she had said.

He had.

He stared back at her with his mouth agape and a very confused expression evident on his face. "W-wait...what was that last part?" He asked.

"Oh, m-my magic turned green again."

"No, no, the part before that." Marco felt tense and started rubbing the back of his neck. "You lost your chance with me?"

Star gave a nervous laugh. "What? No! Don't be silly! It's nothing. Don't worry about." She tried moving past the subject with a dismissive wave of her hand but it didn't work.

Marco knew Star better than he knew himself and could easily read her emotions no matter how hard she tried to hide them from him. "I knew I had something to do with this." He said dejectedly. "Look, Star, I'm really sorry if I caus-"

"No, no, no, Marco!" Star quickly interrupted him. "Don't apologize for anything. I-I don't want you to feel any regret about this night you spent with Jackie."

"Then what did you mean? How did you lose your chance with me?"

"Oh...well...um, it's just that I should've..." Star hesitated trying to think of a good enough excuse that Marco would believe. She nervously began to tug at her blonde hair."...I should've...g-gone to the dance. Yeah! That's it! I should've gone with you cause I missed my first Earth dance."

"But you're the one who decided to go with Janna instead?"

"I know, I was trying to be a good friend to the both of you. Go to the cemetery with her and let you go to the dance with Jackie." Star inwardly smiled, proud of herself for her quick thinking and clearly convincing cover story. It was convincing, right? Marco stared at her with his brow raised skeptically, making Star's nerves come back twice as strong. Her eyes darted across her room as she mapped out every possible escape route she could take if he didn't believe her and continued asking questions.

Something in the pit of Marco's stomach told him that she was lying, that there was a deeper meaning behind her words, but he decided to respect her story and let it go. "Well, it's not too late for you to experience your first Earth dance."

"Marco, the dance ended two hours ago."

He left her bedside and walked across her room to the radio on her dresser. He turned on the dial and started scrolling through the channels until he found one that played classical new age piano.

He turned to see a surprised smile on Star's face. "Since when do you listen to classical piano?"

"You don't know everything about me." Marco answered with a mischievous gleam in his eyes.

He then cleared his throat and shyly approached Star with his hands in his jean pockets. She eyed him carefully at his change in demeanor. He extended his hand out to her. "Star, will you go to the dance with me?"

She felt butterflies dance around in the pit of her stomach at the sincerity of his voice. "B-but Marco..."

"Now, I know this doesn't have the same vibe as a real school dance. This isn't a stuffy gymnasium filled with odor smelling students, no chaperones watching our every move, there isn't a table with a punch bowl and stale cookies, or a DJ playing lame music. But it is just the two of us, in the comfort of your room, with no pressure. And to me that's better." He gave her a warm smile causing Star to melt on the inside. "So I will ask again. Star Butterfly, may I have this dance?"

Star's smile grew from ear to ear and she wiped away the glistening tears that were forming in her eyes. "I would be delighted, Marco."

Marco beamed at her response as if a small part of him thought that she might actually say no. She placed her hand in his and they intertwined their fingers. Marco gently wrapped his other hand around Star's waist and slowly pulled her close to him as she placed her hand on his shoulder. He couldn't believe how snug her body fit into his. It almost felt like they were two puzzle pieces that finally came together. His heart raced at the thought.

He took the lead and guided her across their made up dance floor. She was as light as a feather in his arms. Marco held her, twirled her, and dipped her. The scent of her shampoo from her flowing hair filled his senses, causing him to close his eyes and savor the scent. Star was impressed by Marco's skillful dancing as he seemed to know just how to gracefully move their bodies in perfect unison to the rhythm of each song. Marco couldn't help but get lost in Star's big blue, innocent eyes that sparkled as she gazed at him in admiration.

They had danced with each other once before at the Blood Moon Ball, however, this time was different, they could feel it and knew it to be true, but neither of them would acknowledge it. At the ball, Star was mesmerized by a masked stranger who had swept her off of her feet, just like in the fairytales her mother told her as a child, but this time she knew very well that the handsome stranger was her best friend. Marco was the prince charming to Star's real life princess role. For Marco, he grew up with his parents constantly dancing around the house, it had become a familiar sight for him. It was his father's favorite thing to do with his mother, and now he could understand why. There was something intimate behind the motion of two bodies moving together as one to the tempo of a soft played melody.

The longer they danced together the more comfortable Star became and eventually she rested her head on Marco's shoulder. For a moment, she instantly regretted her decision at Marco's lack of response, but only for a moment. Marco soon leaned his head down and placed his cheek on top of Star's head. It felt so incredibly good to hold her so close and, unbeknownst to him, Star mirrored the same thoughts. They became lost in their own private world where only the two of them existed. All worries and sorrows were forgotten as they relished in the sweet serenity of each other. It was almost like a single spotlight shined around them as everything else faded into the back of their minds. Anyone looking in would've thought they were a young couple who were falling in love with each other for the first time. And maybe they were.

After about four songs the radio station went to commercial, bringing the young teens back to reality. They pulled away from each other and Star braced herself for the situation to become awkward. To her surprise, it did not.

"You're a wonderful dancer, Star. Who taught you?"

"My dad, actually." She smiled. "I used to watch him dance with my mom when I was young. It's one of his favorite things to do so naturally he taught me too."

"Well, I guess I'll have to take a few lessons from him." Marco joked while making a mental note of the similarities between his parents and hers.

"Are you kidding? You're a natural!" Star boasted.

"Well, it's easy with a partner like you." Marco added shyly.

The two teens stood in a comfortable silence for a moment as they each tried to suppress the blush that was emerging on their cheeks. Marco silently wished that another song would come on so he'd have a reason to hold Star again. Star mentally fought the urge to cast another time freeze spell so that this night would never have to end.

After another moment, Star decided to speak up first. "Thank you, Marco, for-"

"Not yet." He stopped her. "The night isn't over yet, we need to end this properly. May I walk you home?"

The sound of Star's giggle was a beautiful melody to his ears.

Marco and Star began the slow trek to her bedroom door. It was surprising how long they were able to extend such a short walk. When they reached the door, Marco stood in the hallway and gave a gentleman's bow. "It was a pleasure, princess."

Star played along and did a small curtsy with her dress. "Thank you for making this an unforgettable night."

Marco smiled at her words. He reached for Star's hand and brought it close to his mouth. "Until next time." He whispered. The feeling of his hot breath on Star's hand made her knees quiver. And with that, Marco placed a tender kiss on the top of her hand and departed as Star slowly closed the door behind him. She immediately sunk to the ground releasing a happy sigh and holding on to her kissed hand.

Marco smiled proudly to himself as he grabbed a juice box from the refrigerator downstairs. He really did enjoy dancing with Star. He'd danced with her once before but this time felt so incredibly satisfying. He felt so lighthearted at being the one who was able to make Star smile and giggle the way she had; even if it was just for the moment. If there was anyone who was deserving of all the happiness in the world, it was her, and he unknowingly made a silent vow to himself to always be the one to make her that happy.

Marco went outside to the backyard to catch some fresh air. He noticed that there was no white light, but rather, a tint of red that filled the night sky. He looked up to see the Blood Moon shining brightly down on the Diaz household. This marked the second time Marco had seen this moon in the same night causing him to wonder about the unusual occurrence. He followed the direction of the red rays to see where the light was leading his eyes until his sight fell perfectly upon Star. She had not noticed Marco's presence and was leaning against her balcony, her gaze fixated on the moon as well. Her eyes were soft as she held a dreamy smile and appeared to be glowing beautifully be the illumination of the Blood Moon. Marco's eyes fell into a half-lidded gaze as he stared at her a moment longer with a soft smile.

Marco turned back towards the sky and admired the brightly lit stars above as he thought tenderly about his Star.


End file.
